SMS blood donor initiative in Portugal

The Vodafone Portugal Foundation and the Portuguese Blood Transfusion Service have signed a co-operation agreement to encourage blood donations in Portugal.

Blood donors registered in the database of the Blood Transfusion Service will be notified of the arrival of a blood collection team in their neighbourhood. They will receive this message on their mobile phone via SMS, rather than the usual postcard.

Using this new system, donors with a particular blood type could also be contacted immediately when necessary.

The new initiative has been tested successfully at the Oporto Regional Blood Bank, and now Vodafone and the Portuguese Blood Transfusion Service will roll out the programme nationwide..